Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea

Feb 25, 12 15:59

Post #1 of 54 (20954 views)

So I have been experimenting with caffeine supplements on my runs. I have taken a 200 MG caffeine pill on my 20 mile long runs (7:50 pace) around mile 15 with no issue. I like caffeine and find it helps give me a boost.

Today, around Mile 5 of my 10 Mile marathon pace run (6:40), I took the 200 MG caffeine tab. About 10 minutes later, I got my caffeine boost, but I also got the feeling that I was going to shit my pants. I tried to hold it, but it overcame me. I had to jump off the treadmill and run to the bathroom. I barely made it. I am glad I tried it in practice and not in a race

So I assume the reason this happened is because vigorous exercise requires more blood to be diverted from the stomach to the muscles being utilized and the digestive system suffers as as result????

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 16:12

Post #2 of 54 (20919 views)

From Wikipedia:
"Coffee is also a powerful stimulant for peristalsis and is sometimes considered to prevent constipation. However, coffee can also cause excessively loose bowel movements. The stimulative effect of coffee consumption on the colon is found in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee."

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 16:29

Post #3 of 54 (20880 views)

Can't offer any insight into the caffeine part, but...

Whenever I've had an experience like you describe (Get to the bathroom NOW!), it's when I'm running hard. So, I'd suspect that your blood diversion reasoning is at least partially to blame. Although, reading the second post, the caffeine probably didn't help, either.

Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 16:31

Post #4 of 54 (20872 views)

200 mg is a lot of caffeine all at once...

some of the issues were likely related to what you ate the day before.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 16:34

Post #5 of 54 (20861 views)

yes that's a very common side effect of caffeine

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 16:49

Post #6 of 54 (20833 views)

Caffeine is known to be a laxative, so this isn't uncommon. As I recall, a cup of coffee has around 100 mg of caffeine. I only drink a half cup of coffee on mornings I run because any more will lead me to be running to a restroom quickly. If I took a 200 mg pill of caffeine mid-run, I'm sure I would have the same problem you did.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 17:12

Post #7 of 54 (20792 views)

tigerchik wrote:

200 mg is a lot of caffeine all at once...

some of the issues were likely related to what you ate the day before.

Whether 200mg of caffeine is a lot depends on your usual intake. A large coffee (Americano, latte, capp) is typically made with 2-3 shots of espresso... that's over 200mg of caffeine right there. I'd say I hit 150-200mg within an hour of getting up...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say unless the OP doesn't normally consume caffeine, this wasn't caffeine-driven, but rather something else that happened earlier in the day.

----------------------------------
http://ironvision.blogspot.com ; @drSteve1663

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 17:34

Post #8 of 54 (20732 views)

of course, there is the fact that distance running has been known to make people poop. maybe the caffeine or what you ate had nothing to do with it? I cannot tell you how many times I've had to stop off in the middle of a run over the last 20+ years.

shit happens.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 19:27

Post #9 of 54 (20613 views)

It's the caffeine. It will irritate the bowel. Very common unfortunately. I love coffee and have struggled balancing coffee intake on intense or long run days for years. It also will slow the uptake of water in the intestine. So if you start out a wee bit dehydrated to start with, watch out. And the news just gets better as this will only get worse with age. You're doing the right thing because the only way to figure it out is trial and error.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 19:51

Post #10 of 54 (20556 views)

What did you eat the night before? The morning before?
I LOVE caffeine (racing and everyday). It does keep me "regular". I have not taken a caffeine pill, but I do prefer a few gels that have caffeine in them.
On long races, I now take an Immodium prior to the start.
You might want to experiment with Immodium. It will definitely back you up for a few days if you don't need it, but it can keep you from shitting your pants in a race.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 19:54

Post #11 of 54 (20555 views)

On a side note....Caffeine seems to drop my blood sugar...I don't like to run on it at all.

Post deleted by timboricki [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 20:02

Post #12 of 54 (20542 views)

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [timboricki] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 21:11

Post #13 of 54 (20459 views)

timboricki wrote:

What did you eat the night before? The morning before?
I LOVE caffeine (racing and everyday). It does keep me "regular". I have not taken a caffeine pill, but I do prefer a few gels that have caffeine in them.
On long races, I now take an Immodium prior to the start.
You might want to experiment with Immodium. It will definitely back you up for a few days if you don't need it, but it can keep you from shitting your pants in a race.

It was definitely the caffeine pill. I have been using gels with caffeine on hundreds of my runs over the past 3 years and nothing like this has ever happened. In addition, I misstated calling the bowel movement "diarrhea" in the subject line. It was definitely loosey goosey, but wasn't really diarrhea. I just had to shit really bad and couldn't hold it. I didn't eat anything strange and had no stomach pains before or after.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 21:57

Post #14 of 54 (20423 views)

JackSlade wrote:

... I had to jump off the treadmill and run to the bathroom....

1. good thing you had a bathroom nearby.
2. good thing you tested this in training rather than trying something new in a race.

yeah- caffeine will do that. Great laxative.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 25, 12 23:10

Post #15 of 54 (20387 views)

Drank a cup of coffee before a bike/run TT. I thought it would give me more pep in my pedal/step. Bike was fine. The run was the most painful experience I have ever gone through. Side cramp like no other. I thought an alien was going to rip right through my abdomen area. I even thought "this might be appendicitus?"

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 0:10

Post #16 of 54 (20358 views)

You should repeat this 'test' a couple of times to weed out the pros, cons and 'randomness'.

IME, acute dumping is correlated more to what I ate several hours before, not what I ingest while running.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 3:36

Post #17 of 54 (20293 views)

JackSlade wrote:

So I have been experimenting with caffeine supplements on my runs.

Taking caffein pills for a treadmill jog would have deserved diarrhea in front of the hot gym chick that you always wanted to ask out but did not have the balls for.

_________________________________________________
CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 5:29

Post #18 of 54 (20207 views)

from what I have read, to really get the desired caffeine effects (not the diarrhea part) ... you need to consume it well before exercise (60-120 min). So taking at mile 5 of a 10 mile run wouldn't really have much effect. You might feel the little caffeine buzz but does it really have any performance-enhancing effect? I don't have any links handy ... but I'm pretty sure that all the articles and studies I've read about have the subjects taking caffeine well before exercise.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [BrianB] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 9:57

Post #19 of 54 (20050 views)

BrianB wrote:

from what I have read, to really get the desired caffeine effects (not the diarrhea part) ... you need to consume it well before exercise (60-120 min). So taking at mile 5 of a 10 mile run wouldn't really have much effect. You might feel the little caffeine buzz but does it really have any performance-enhancing effect? I don't have any links handy ... but I'm pretty sure that all the articles and studies I've read about have the subjects taking caffeine well before exercise.

In my experience, this is not the case. When I take GU gels w/ caffeine, I can feel the boost within 10 minutes of consumption. For me , the performance enhancing effect is the boost. You don't have to wait 60-120 minutes to get your caffeine buzz from your coffee, do you?

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [BrianB] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 10:33

Post #20 of 54 (19999 views)

I always take mine two hours before, if possible. Maybe a little bump before (gel with caffeine), but it works better for me that way. I've also heard similar studies, I believe from a Tri Talk podcast.

n=1 - this morning I took mine about 20 minutes before leaving for a 10 mile run. I didn't feel the athletic effects (not the buzz, but the drop in RPE) until 4 miles in.

Pre-race it never fails to give me a "bombs away" if I take it early enough. Ditch the ballast and go fast!

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 10:40

Post #21 of 54 (19985 views)

I would gladly shit myself if I could hold a 6:40 marathon pace.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [LoDewey] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 11:33

Post #22 of 54 (19923 views)

LoDewey wrote:

I would gladly shit myself if I could hold a 6:40 marathon pace.

I'd shit myself to hold a 6:40 5k pace.

My morning ritual includes a single cup of coffee to get things moving before my s/b/r. I have become very regular which means I have no issues out on the road. The one time it didn't happen I got to about mile 7 and had to duck down an alley in the neighborhood I was running in and drop my drawers. Fortunately it was still well before dawn but I don't want to have to do that again. Every time I run by that alley I remember that morning.

Panabax

We�ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.�Robert Wilensky

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [LoDewey] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 11:49

Post #23 of 54 (19895 views)

LoDewey wrote:

I would gladly shit myself if I could hold a 6:40 marathon pace.

Runs lots and lots. You can get there.

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 11:58

Post #24 of 54 (19884 views)

a can of coke has less than 40 grams . . . you just gave yourself a tonne of caffeine all at once, and presumably no food to 'buffer' it, either. i'd experiment with lower doses. some people drink de-fizzed coke on the run - ever tried that?

-mike

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Re: Took a 200 MG Caffeine Pill On My 10 Mile Run (Marathon Pace - 6:40 Pace) = Diarrhea [JackSlade] [ In reply to ]

Feb 26, 12 12:02

Post #25 of 54 (19879 views)

poopman is that you?!

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